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Jailbreak
This episode goes out to Rainy and Red (as all episodes generally do without saying). You guys make me practically giddy with love and this series would never have ever come this far without you. You guys make me smile, you make my days, so I hope I'm not too presumptuous in saying that I hope this makes yours. <3 Episode 1, Season 4 of War. Jailbreak The white she-cat surveyed the enemy camp with her head titled. "I don't understand why you do that," her sister meowed. "Why don't you just look straight ahead?" "Life is tilted," she meowed softly. Her sister let out a huff of annoyance, as she always did whenever she thought something Snowflight said was stupid, but didn't want to say. The white she-cat finished her observation and closed her eyes, "There are guards, but they're weak." "A siege'll do that to you." "Hmm. My best bet is to sneak through." Her sister rolled her eyes. Snowflight knew they had the same eyes- hers were a shade darker. Lionwing had their father's golden pelt, and Snowflight had somehow gotten the random color of white, even though their mother was ginger. Such was life. "I know sneaking is probably the smart thing to do, but it is oh so fun to kill WaterClan cats," Lionwing sighed. "On the way out?" "We'll see." If Snowflight had been an ordinary she-cat, perhaps her whiskers would have twitched in amusement. But her meow was devoid of emotion and she tilted her head once more. "Ready?" her sister asked. Snowflight stretched, looking down at WaterClan. "Oh yes." Oakclaw jerked awake. Which was a shame. Despite his skills at sleeping, he had only been managing to sleep a few hours before nightmares woke him. Shadowsong's solution was just not to sleep. She crouched over a mouse carcass, and when she saw he was awake, she pushed it to him. "Hurry." Oakclaw understood her concern. With FireClan laying siege to Main, there was little food to be found. Kits, elders, and queens were fed first, and Shadowsong and Oakclaw managed to scrape by with a little more because they were stuck on guard duty. He looked at the hole-dens, sunken into the ground. Inside most of them, a cat lay crouched. WaterClan was still keeping the FireClan prisoners alive, but Oakclaw wasn't sure how long that was going to last. This was where the most dangerous FireClan cats were kept, so it made sense for them to get executed. But he wasn't the one making the decisions. One of those dens held Thundercloud. Firestar's brother and arguably the most psychotic cat alive. He was truly the only prisoner Oakclaw was worried about, as the others were weakened by starvation. And nowhere near as sick. Shadowsong and Oakclaw were the only guards. Shadowsong had wanted to be out fighting on the front lines, but Oakclaw knew she was, however she tried to hide it, a little fragile. So he made sure they were put on guard duty, citing that they knew Thundercloud and his techniques better than most. Waterstar hadn't argued. "I'm going to go to the dirtplace," Shadowsong announced. "You know, I'm glad we're so close that you don't feel the need to censor this stuff anymore." Shadowsong stuck her tongue out and him and padded off. Oakclaw sighed and sat, scratching behind his ear. Fleas were becoming a bit of an issue, but they were mostly centered around the medicine dens where all the injured and dying were. All of the squirrels in the world couldn't have convinced Oakclaw to travel there now. He heard a little whimper and looked up. A stunningly pretty she-cat was walking towards him. Her white fur was covered in grime and her dark amber eyes were haunted. She looked behind her frequently, as though she was being chased. When she saw Oakclaw, her eyes lit up. She hurried forward. "Please, you have to help me!" her voice wavered a little and her eyes began to swim with tears. Oakclaw had his experience of crying she-cats, and he comforted her, "Hey, it's okay...what do you need?" The she-cat looked at him gratefully, then behind her. "My sister she-she-" she sobbed. "I'm sorry, just..." "What's your name?" Oakclaw asked gently. He looked behind him to make sure Shadowsong wasn't coming. It wasn't that she was the jealous type, she just... Well, she was extremely jealous. "S-Snowflight." she sniffled. "Please, my sister was hurt. She n-needs help, b-but I can't carry her..." "Okay," Oakclaw thought, then meowed. "I can't leave my post yet, but we can carry her here and I'll do what I can." He had about zero knowledge of anything medicinal, but when the she-cat purred and gave him a watery smile, he felt the little fib was worth it. She turned and began to lead him away. Nervously, he glanced back. Nothing was going to happen, he'd be gone a minute. Snowflight led him past the prison and Oakclaw started to feel uneasy. "Is it much farther?" She shook her head. "Not far at all," Oakclaw felt uneasy, but it was too late to go back now. They walked for another minute or so, and then Snowflight stopped. "Erm, is your sister here?" Oakclaw meowed, starting to rethink the intelligence of wandering off with a pretty she-cat. Snowflight turned to him and he took a step back. It wasn't that she had grown a third eye or something, but her face was completely devoid of emotion. Nothing. No cat can look like that and not be insane, Oakclaw thought. He unsheathed his claws, just in case. "My sister's right here," Snowflight meowed, sounding...monotonous? Was that the right word? "Ooookay..." Oakclaw looked around. No one. So maybe the she-cat's sister had died and she lost it? He turned, wondering if he should just leave or if he should try to help her. A golden she-cat stepped out of the shadows. "There you are Snowflight!" Oakclaw was starting to get the feeling this was a trap, and he almost turned to see what Snowflight was doing, but the golden she-cat was talking again. "You see, when our father found out how ruthless Snowflight and I were, our...talent for things like this, he made sure we got excellent tutelage. And one of the first things we learned was how to knock a cat out with one hit." Oakclaw lunged for her, but Snowflight had crept up behind him and she hit him hard over the head. Oakclaw crumpled to the ground. "I still think it would've been easier to just kill him," Lionwing sighed. Snowflight remained silent. Lionwing stepped forward to finish the job, but Snowflight stopped her. "Don't you think it's better he lives with the shame?" she wheedled. Lionwing wanted to sigh, but she did like the idea of the tom having to wake up and realize everything that happened was his fault. An easy smirk came over her face, "You know, sister of mine, some might say I'm the more vicious of the pair of us, but you have your charms." Snowflight shrugged, leading the way out of the clearing. Lionwing looked back at the unconscious tom, the urge to just go over and slit his throat, just a little very nearly overwhelming her. She turned and followed her sister out of the clearing. I am exhausted. We've been walking for three days, and it might be less tiring if I didn't have to look out for the newest addition of our little squad. The newest addition who is poking me in the face now. I'' will ''resist the urge to swat him into someone else, I will... I open my eyes and see Riverkit's blue ones a whisker length from my face. I shriek and jump up and he giggles. "I'm hungry." At least he can eat normal food, I think as I stretch and yawn. If he was still on milk, I don't know what '' we would have done.'' I head into the forest, ready to hunt. Riverkit follows me. That's the plus of him being around, I feel like I'm preparing him for the real world. And not just looking after my kit brother after our parents were slaughtered mercilessly by FireClan. You know. "Look, there's a mouse," he whispers. I nod and crouch. He does the same and together, we pull ourselves forward. I leap and grab the mouse, killing it swiftly. He leaps and lands on me, growling fiercely. I snort and dump him to the ground. "Eat up kit." "Brookfall, will we get to Main Camp today?" he asks while chewing. I can see little pieces of mouse being chewed up by his tiny sharp teeth. "Chew with your mouth closed Riverkit, that's nasty," I turn away and he stops smacking, still looking at me with impatient blue eyes. "I think so, but you might want to ask Adderscar." "I don't like Adderscar." he complains. "I asked him if we were there yet, and he told me if I kept it up, I wouldn't get to Main at all." I resist the urge to go find Adderscar and pummel him and I just shrug. "Adderscar's kind of...mean." "Being mean is...mean though." he protests. I shrug, not knowing what else to do. "Will you carry me back to camp?" he begs. I nod and crouch so he can scramble onto my back. "Ready?" "Yeah!" I take a deep breath and start to careen through the forest. I'm not going as fast as I could, but Riverkit shrieks with laughter. We arrive back at camp as everyone else is waking up. I let Riverkit slide to the ground and he promptly curls up and goes back to sleep. I'll probably have to carry him today. Gorsefur yawns. "Are we ready?" Everyone nods and we restart our trek. To try and cut journeying short, we cut meals down to twice a day (excluding Riverkit of course). So far it's worked, and I can practically hear Main camp. Or can I? I prick my ears, then almost drop Riverkit as I start to hear the screams. Everyone else stops as we listen for a moment, eyes wide. Something terrible is happening at Main. We start walking again and I'm grateful Riverkit doesn't stir. Lionwing ducked into each den and meowed the message: "Firestar welcomes you back." Cats crawled out of their filthy dens and Snowflight felt a rush of rage at seeing her Clanmates treated so brutally. These were some of FireClan's best warriors and they looked haggard, starved, broken. She hid it well, but she was enraged. Her heart leapt though when Thundercloud came up out of his den with Lionwing. "Thundercloud!" she dashed over, dipping her head. He purred. "How are my girls?" "Fine," they each purred. Thundercloud wasn't their father, but he might as well have been. He had trained them, along with his own kits, and he made them some of FireClan's most formidable warriors. Snowflight couldn't believe it when she heard WaterClan had ahold of him. Lionwing double checked all the prison dens and they were empty. She began to hustle the freed prisoners out of camp and Snowflight felt a surge of joy. WaterClan had just lost all of their most infamous enemies. After a quarter moon of recovering, these cats would be back on their borders, thirsty for blood. As they disappeared back into the woods, Snowflight turned and saw a black she-cat head for the prisons. She paused and Thundercloud and Lionwing padded back over to her. Thundercloud growled. "Shadowsong." Lionwing didn't say anything, her eyes narrowed. Thundercloud started forward, "I'll be back, in a moment," he padded off to deal with the dark she-cat. Lionwing smirked and sat to watch. Snowflight almost felt a bit of sympathy for that she-cat. Almost. Shadowsong didn't see Oakclaw when she got back. He probably went to go get a mouse or something, the idiot. She sat, waiting. A flicker of movement caught her eyes and she was on her paws, dodging just in time as Thundercloud leaped onto the spot she had been sitting. This was a scene she had played out in her nightmares over and over. It didn't always happen this way, usually Thundercloud had someone with him. But this was still horrifying. "Where's Oakclaw?" she spat. "He's taken care of," Thundercloud meowed easily. She saw the flicker in his eyes though and felt a bit of relief. He doesn't know. So where is Oakclaw, if Thundercloud doesn't have him? "You know, I truly hate you," Thundercloud meowed, stalking forward. Shadowsong took a few steps back. "I'm sure there's a club somewhere, you can go join it. Oh wait, you're going straight back to your prison. Sorry." He smirked, though there was no humor in it. "That's what I mean. That stuck up attitude. You are a formidable enemy Shadowsong, fun to play with." "Thanks," she meowed, dodging as he swiped at her. She snuck in a scratch and managed to draw blood before spinning away. Thundercloud growled. You can dodge forever, but he's going to get you eventually. Come on, you can beat him. She leapt, surprising the ginger tom. Obviously he wasn't used to his prey fighting back to hard. She clawed his stomach, giving him shallow wounds, but unable to strike the killing blow. His strength worked against her, and she suddenly found herself pinned under him. "I wish that insufferable idiot you seem to care for so much was here to see this," he growled as she struggled. "At least I can make sure you suffer when you die." He unsheathed his claws and drove them downward. "You really shouldn't have killed her," Lionwing meowed reproachfully. Thundercloud didn't reply and Lionwing pushed on. "I mean she's...well, you know. I would have liked to get a chance to know her. Or failing that, kill her myself." Thundercloud sighed. "Well when you find someone you hate with a passion, you can kill them." Lionwing rolled her eyes and stalked onward. Snowflight looked back towards the camp, wondering is the dark she-cat was dead yet. Probably not. Thundercloud knew what he was doing. If he wanted her to suffer for a few days, then she had better make her peace and get ready. "Really though..." Lionwing went on. They walked, FireClan's most notorious, now escaped, prisoners, and their rescuers. It takes some FireClan blood, but eventually we make it inside Main. After asking around, we learn several things. FireClan has been laying Siege to Main for three days, ever since the supposed 'treaties'. Cats are starving. Cats are dying. And Oakclaw and Shadowsong are guarding the prison. We wade through blood and battlefields, occasionally stopping to give aid, mostly just reflecting in silence what this war is doing to our once beautiful, now ravaged Main Camp. The river literally has a red tint to it. Not as artful, perhaps, as if it ran with blood, but more realistic. I don't actually know where the prisons are, but Gorsefur does. He leads us through the residential areas and suddenly stops. I peek around him and gasp. This time, I do actually drop Riverkit. Oakclaw's unmistakable golden fur lies, still, on the path. Gorsefur is frozen and so I'm the one who races forward. I hear Riverkit's calls, but Grayleaf holds him, soothing. I lean over him, preparing myself for the ghastly wound, the blood. But there is none. Puzzled, I look at Oakclaw's flank. It rises and I sink back in relief. Gorsefur joins me. I expect him to thank StarClan or some like that, but he just leans down and whacks Oakclaw in the head with his paw. The golden tom jerks awake, golden eyes wide. "We thought you were dead!" Gorsefur yowls. "I-" "Were you sleeping? Because if you want to take a nap, please do it somewhere other then next to a bunch of bodies." Gorsefur looks furious, but I can see that he shakes. The others come to join us. "What are you doing here?" Oakclaw blinks. "Did you save-" "Summerstorm fell," Gorsefur meows. I look at my paws. "Oh," Oakclaw looks at me. "Sorry." "Wasn't your fault," I meow, my throat feeling tight. "What are you doing passed out?" Adderscar asks, smirking. "There was this she-cat-" We all sigh and he shakes his head. "Not like that! Jeez! She was FireClan, I guess, but she rolled herself in stuff so I couldn't smell. She said she needed help, then she and her sister knocked me out." "The prison..." Adderscar meowed, eyes wide. Oakclaw got to his paws and led the charge, pelting for the prisons. The briar dens look normal, but as we go through them, we discover each and every one is empty. "They rescued all the prisoners," Oakclaw whispers. "This is my fault. Thundercloud and all the others...Oh StarClan..." "It's not your fault." I comfort. Gorsefur nudges his friend's shoulder and Oakclaw looks at his paws. "I found someone!" Stormflight calls. He disappears back down the den he was searching and comes back up, gently carrying a dark lump of fur. Oakclaw's breath catches in his throat. Stormflight lays her gently down. The first thing I notice is the gaping wound. It must hurt so much, but she doesn't make a sound. Blood still pumps from it, weakly. Her flank rises and falls erratically. Oakclaw rushes forward with a choked cry. He kneels over her, Gorsefur and I following. Her eyes flutter weakly open and she gives a low yowl of pain. Oakclaw flinches, like it's him who's bleeding out onto the sand. She tries to meow something, but coughs, blood spraying the sand. She tries again, and makes it this time. "Thundercloud." Gorsefur stiffens, his eyes becoming dark. Her eyes start to close and Oakclaw yowls, "Shadowsong, no!" "She's not dead," Adderscar meows. He looks stricken, eyes wide and very green. He inspects the wound. 'Grayleaf can correct me if I'm wrong." Grayleaf nods. "I can see Thundercloud doing this, this is terrible. He didn't get any of her internal organs, obviously he wanted her to suffer. There's some tearing, probably from when she was shoved into the den, but if we can stop the bleeding she might make it." "She's a fighter," Gorsefur murmurs. "She'll make it." Oakclaw doesn't answer. I can't imagine the pain he must be going through. He thinks it was his fault the prisoners escaped, it was his fault Thundercloud was released, it was his fault Shadowsong was alone to fight him. And now he's paying for it. "The medicine dens will be swamped." Adderscar meows softly. "Well," Grayleaf says determinedly. "It's a good thing you know a medicine cat." Category:Artimas Hunter's Fanfics